William Friedkin Will Be 'On the Lot'

OMG, did you watch On the Lot last night!? I'll try to refrain from telling you exactly what I think about the show (um, shouldn't Spielberg have been there for the pilot since, ya know -- this is his show?) since Scott will be recapping each episode for us, but I will say that those of us in the Davis household will be rooting for Jessica B. (or Jess) as we've met her before, know she's talented and, well, a girl deserves to win. There, I said it! For those that don't remember Jessica, she was the brunette who was screaming at the other team to move off their set. Go Jess! And don't even get me started on Brett Ratner -- part of me was hoping the dude would throw a stripper or two at the aspiring filmmakers while they were pitching their awesome ideas. "You see, it's a rat who becomes a mouse, and then they go to, uh, a lab ... can I go get my notes?"

Anyway, Variety tells us that Bug director William Friedkin has accepted an invite from Spielberg to serve as a jurist in the horror film section of On the Lot. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I also believe Wes Craven will be there for that too.) It's a good time for Friedkin to be in the news; his latest flick, Bug (which our own Jette Kernion said "blends paranoia, trust and love into a riveting story, driven by intense characters"), arrives in theaters this weekend. And when you're putting together a horror jury, it can't hurt to have the guy who directed The Exorcist giving notes. The article also mentions the fact that Friedkin has just switched reps (from WMA to Paradigm) and, in doing so, he hopes to concentrate on low-budget films rather than "compete with the guys who are making these $500 million movies." Hey man, as long as you stay away from stuff like Blue Chips, I'm down. On the Lot returns this Thursday when our unique cast of misfits attempt to complete their short films and show them to Ratner, Princess Leia and Garry Marshall.